Carpet tack strip container

ABSTRACT

A carpet-tack-strip container has a rectangular container ( 1 ) that is suitably moisture proof, durable and adapted to contain approximately a conventional package of carpet-tack strips ( 12 ) either in the package or out of the package for access to the carpet-tack strips conveniently and safely as needed by one or more people to tack down-pointed tacks into a floor for holding the tack strips in place in order to hold carpet placed on the up-pointed tacks in place on the floor. The carpet-tack strip container has a lid ( 8 ) that preferably hinges open from near a top end ( 7 ) on a back edge ( 3 ) and closes further downward on a front edge for exposing ends of the carpet-tack strips. The lid opens without contacting the carpet-tack strips. A shoulder strap ( 11 ) and a handle ( 10 ) are positioned on a front edge ( 2 ).

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

[0001] This invention relates to containers for workers who lay carpetsto use for carrying a working supply of carpet-tack strips and forplacing them within convenient reach for being tacked to floors forlaying carpet without damage or danger from working conditions.

[0002] Tack strips are thin lath-like boards with small nails stickingup from a top side for holding carpet in place. Pointing down from thebottom side are small cement or wood spikes positioned in the strips forbeing pounded down into a cement or wooden floor. The strips aregenerally four feet long, an inch wide and one-quarter inch thick.

[0003] The tack strips are sold commercially in cardboard packages aboutfive inches thick, ten inches wide and slightly over four feet long. Thepackages are very suitable for commercial distribution but not forconditions of use of the tack strips by carpet layers. The packages getwet and fall apart, leaving the tack strips dangerously exposed to feet,hands and car tires. When the tack strips get wet, they distort andbecome unusable. The nails in them then often fall out and become ahazzard. Access to the tack strips in the packages is inconvenient,time-consuming and dangerous for rapid carpet laying. A worker must workat a slow pace to access the tack strips safely from within thepackages. To decrease the inconvenience, people laying carpet often takeout several tack strips at a time and place them near where intended tobe tacked down to floors. When taken out and left around, they becomedangerous to others and to a person who puts them around because theperson might forget where they have been put. The nails sticking up aresharp and often cause injuries, which if not taken care of immediately,can result in serious infection. The packages are inconvenient to moveabout and to place for convenient access. A considerable amount ofworker time is lost working with the tack strips as supplied in thepackages. Working with the packages also causes worker fatigue whichdecreases effectiveness and quality of work time.

[0004] These problems have persisted for many decades without beingaddressed or cured prior to this invention.

[0005] There are known containers that have been patented for golfclubs, rifles, telescopes and sundry other items, but non forcarpet-tack strips in a manner taught by this invention.

[0006] Examples of most-closely related known but different containersare described in the following patent documents: Patent No. (U.S. unlessstated otherwise) Inventor Issue Date 5,669,495 West Sep. 23, 19975,005,743 Ramsay Apr. 09, 1991 4,643,302 Baumgardner Feb. 17, 19875,433,318 Focke Jul. 18, 1995 4,796,789 Willcocks Jan. 10, 19891,903,798 Turner Apr. 29, 1930 1,727,578 Wengard Jun. 28, 1928 1,352,238Arthur Sep. 07, 1920

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0007] Objects of patentable novelty and utility taught by thisinvention are to provide a carpet-tack-strip container which:

[0008] keeps carpet-tack strips dry and in place when stored,transported, carried and positioned for access by a carpet layer orother person using them for laying carpets;

[0009] is easily balanced and carried in a hand or over a shoulder; and

[0010] has a lid that can be opened for quick, easy and safe access tothe carpet-tack strips.

[0011] This invention accomplishes these and other objectives with acarpet-tack-strip container that is suitably moisture proof and adaptedto contain approximately a conventional package of carpet-tack stripseither in the package or out of the package for access to thecarpet-tack strips conveniently and safely as needed by one or morepeople to tack down-pointed tacks into a floor for holding the tackstrips in place in order to hold carpet placed on the up-pointed tacksin place on the floor. The carpet-tack-strip container has a lid thatpreferably hinges open from near a top on a back edge and closes furtherdownward on a front edge for exposing ends of the carpet-tack strips.The lid opens without contacting the carpet-tack strips. A shoulderstrap and a handle are positioned on the front edge.

[0012] The above and other objects, features and advantages of thepresent invention should become even more readily apparent to thoseskilled in the art upon a reading of the following detailed descriptionin conjunction with the drawings wherein there is shown and describedillustrative embodiments of the invention.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

[0013] This invention is described by appended claims in relation todescription of a preferred embodiment with reference to the followingdrawings which are explained briefly as follows:

[0014]FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a carpet-tack-strip containerhaving a package area for receiving a package of carpet-tack strips;

[0015]FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a carpet-tack-strip containerhaving a jumbo-pack area for receiving more than a package ofcarpet-tack strips;

[0016]FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a carpet-tack-strip containerhaving a part-pack area for receiving less than a package of carpet-tackstrips;

[0017]FIG. 4 is a partially cutaway view from a top of a side of acarpet-tack-strip container showing a lid opened for convenient accessto a package of carpet-tack strips that have been removed from thepackage; and

[0018]FIG. 5 is a partially cutaway view from a top of a side of anempty carpet-tack-strip container in a lid-closed mode and having apackage area for receiving a package of the carpet-tack strips in thepackage.

DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

[0019] Listed numerically below with reference to the drawings are termsused to describe features of this invention. These terms and numbersassigned to them designate the same features throughout thisdescription. 1. Rectangular container 2. Front edge 3. Back edge 4.First side 5. Second side 6. Bottom end 7. Top end 8. Lid 9. Hinge 10.Handle 11. Shoulder strap 12. Carpet-tack strips

[0020] Referring to FIGS. 1-5, a carpet-tack-strip container has arectangular container 1 having a front edge 2, a back edge 3, a firstside 4, a second side 5, a bottom end 6, a top end 7 and a lid 8. Thelid 8 has a back edge that is hinged with a hinge 9 to the back edge 3of the rectangular container 1 predeterminedly near the top end 7 of theback edge 3 of the rectangular container 1.

[0021] Coinciding with the rectangular container 1, the lid 8 has afront edge that is predeterminedly longer than the back edge, a firstside that is slanted intermediate a bottom of the front edge and abottom of the back edge and a second side that is slanted intermediate abottom of the front edge and a bottom of the back edge.

[0022] The rectangular container 1 and the lid 8 are predeterminedlymoisture proof and durable. Preferably, they can be made of a durableplastic or aluminum.

[0023] At least one conveyance grip, which can include a handle 10 and ashoulder strap 11, are positioned predeterminedly on the front edge 2.

[0024] The rectangular container 1 is adapted to contain predeterminedcarpet-tack strips 12 juxtaposed with the carpet-tack strips 12 beinggenerally about parallel to an axis of the rectangular container 1 andhaving oppositely disposed ends intermediate an inside periphery of thebottom end 6 of the rectangular container 1 and an inside periphery of atop end of the lid 8 in a lid-closed mode.

[0025] The rectangular container 1 and the lid 8 positioned end-to-endwith the lid 8 in the lid-closed mode are adapted to contain apredetermined plurality of the carpet-tack strips 12 juxtaposed within acontainer area which is defined by inside peripheries of the front edge2, the first side 4, the back edge 3 and the second side 5 of therectangular container 1.

[0026] The back edge 3 of the rectangular container 1 has acontainer-back length that is predeterminedly shorter than intendedcarpet-tack strips 12 for which the rectangular container 1 is adaptedto contain. The back edge of the lid 8 has a lid-back length which ispredeterminedly shorter than the container-back length. The lid-backlength and the container-back length added together linearly end-to-endis a total-back length. The total-back length is predeterminedly longerthan the intended carpet-tack strips 12. The front edge 2 of therectangular container 1 has a container-front length that ispredeterminedly shorter than the intended carpet-tack strips 12. Thefront edge of the lid 8 has a lid-front length which is predeterminedlyshorter than the container-front length. The lid-front length and thecontainer-front length added together linearly end-to-end is atotal-front length. The total-front length is predeterminedly longerthan the carpet-tack strips 12. The total-front length is sufficientlylonger than the container-front length for causing a bottom end of thefront edge of the lid 8 in hinged transit to circumvent and thereby toavoid contact with one or more of the carpet-tack strips 12 which may bepositioned with bottom ends proximate an inside periphery of the bottomend 6 of the rectangular container 1 and with top ends in closeproximity to an inside periphery of the front edge 2 of the rectangularcontainer 1 as illustrated in FIG. 4.

[0027] The container area can include a package area for receiving apredetermined package of the carpet-tack strips 12. The container areacan include a full-pack area, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 4, for receiving aplurality of the carpet-tack strips 12 that has been contained in thepackage and removed for placement in the rectangular container 1.

[0028] The container area can include a part-pack area, as shown in FIG.3, for receiving a predetermined portion of the plurality of thecarpet-tack strips 12 that has been contained in the package and removedfor placement of a part-pack plurality of the carpet-tack strips 12 inthe rectangular container 1.

[0029] The container area can include a jumbo-pack area, as shown inFIG. 2, for receiving a predetermined plurality of the carpet-tackstrips 12 that has been contained in a plurality of the packages andremoved for placement of a jumbo-pack plurality of the carpet-tackstrips 12 in the rectangular container 1.

[0030] The handle 10 can be positioned proximate a center of gravityintermediate the bottom end 6 of the rectangular container 1, the topend of the lid 8, the first side 4 of the rectangular container 1 andthe second side 5 of the container 1.

[0031] The shoulder strap 11 has strap ends which can be positioned atthe center of gravity intermediate the bottom end 6 of the rectangularcontainer 1, the top end of the lid 8, the first side 4 of therectangular container 1 and the second side 5 of the container 1.

[0032] The handle 10 can be positioned intermediate the strap ends andproximate the center of gravity of the rectangular container 1 and thelid 8 combined with the lid 8 in the lid-closed mode.

[0033] Optionally, the handle 10 and/or the shoulder strap 11 can bepositioned off-center to provide a slanted orientation of therectangular container 1 when hand-carried.

[0034] A new and useful carpet-tack-strip container having beendescribed, all such foreseeable modifications, adaptations,substitutions of equivalents, mathematical possibilities of combinationsof parts, pluralities of parts, applications and forms thereof asdescribed by the following claims and not precluded by prior art areincluded in this invention.

What is claimed is:
 1. A carpet-tack-strip container comprising: arectangular container having a front edge, a back edge, a first side, asecond side, a bottom end, a top end and a lid; the lid having a backedge that is hinged to the back edge of the rectangular containerpredeterminedly near the top end of the back edge of the rectangularcontainer; the lid having a front edge that is predeterminedly longerthan the back edge, a first side that is slanted intermediate a bottomof the front edge and a bottom of the back edge and a second side thatis slanted intermediate a bottom of the front edge and a bottom of theback edge; the rectangular container and the lid being predeterminedlymoisture proof; at least one conveyance grip positioned predeterminedlyon the front edge; the rectangular container being adapted to containpredetermined carpet-tack strips juxtaposed with the carpet-tack stripsbeing generally about parallel to an axis of the rectangular containerand having oppositely disposed ends intermediate an inside periphery ofthe bottom end of the rectangular container and an inside periphery of atop end of the lid in a lid-closed mode; and the rectangular containerand the lid positioned end-to-end with the lid in the lid-closed modeare adapted to contain a predetermined plurality of the carpet-tackstrips juxtaposed within a container area which is defined by insideperipheries of the front edge, the first side, the back edge and thesecond side of the rectangular container.
 2. The carpet-tack-stripcontainer of claim 1 wherein: the back edge of the rectangular containerhas a container-back length that is predeterminedly shorter thanintended carpet-tack strips for which the rectangular container isadapted to contain; the back edge of the lid has a lid-back length whichis predeterminedly shorter than the container-back length; the lid-backlength and the container-back length added together linearly end-to-endis a total-back length; the total-back length is predeterminedly longerthan the intended carpet-tack strips; the front edge of the rectangularcontainer has a container-front length that is predeterminedly shorterthan the intended carpet-tack strips; the front edge of the lid has alid-front length which is predeterminedly shorter than thecontainer-front length; the lid-front length and the container-frontlength added together linearly end-to-end is a total-front length; thetotal-front length is predeterminedly longer than the intendedcarpet-tack strips; the total-front length is sufficiently longer thanthe container-front length for causing a bottom end of the front edge ofthe lid in hinged transit to circumvent and thereby to avoid contactwith one or more of the carpet-tack strips which may be positioned withbottom ends proximate an inside periphery of the bottom end of therectangular container and with top ends in close proximity to an insideperiphery of the front edge of the rectangular container.
 3. Thecarpet-tack-strip container of claim 1 wherein: the container areaincludes a package area for receiving a predetermined package of thecarpet-tack strips.
 4. The carpet-tack-strip container of claim 1wherein: the container area includes a full-pack area for receiving aplurality of the carpet-tack strips that has been contained in thepackage and removed for placement in the rectangular container.
 5. Thecarpet-tack-strip container of claim 1 wherein: the container areaincludes a part-pack area for receiving a predetermined portion of theplurality of the carpet-tack strips that has been contained in thepackage and removed for placement of a part-pack plurality of thecarpet-tack strips in the rectangular container.
 6. Thecarpet-tack-strip container of claim 1 wherein: the container areaincludes a jumbo-pack area for receiving a predetermined plurality ofthe carpet-tack strips that has been contained in a plurality of thepackages and removed for placement of a jumbo-pack plurality of thecarpet-tack strips in the rectangular container.
 7. Thecarpet-tack-strip container of claim 1 wherein: at least one conveyancegrip positioned predeterminedly on the front edge of the rectangularcontainer includes a handle.
 8. The carpet-tack-strip container of claim7 wherein: the handle is positioned proximate a center of gravityintermediate the bottom end of the rectangular container, the top end ofthe lid, the first side of the rectangular container and the second sideof the rectangular container.
 9. The carpet-tack-strip container ofclaim 1 wherein: at least one conveyance grip positioned predeterminedlyon the front edge of the rectangular container includes a shoulderstrap.
 10. The carpet-tack-strip container of claim 9 wherein: theshoulder strap has strap ends which are positioned proximate the centerof gravity intermediate the bottom end of the rectangular container, thetop end of the lid, the first side of the rectangular container and thesecond side of the rectangular container.
 11. The carpet-tack-stripcontainer of claim 10 wherein: the handle is positioned intermediate thestrap ends and proximate the center of gravity intermediate the bottomend of the rectangular container, the top end of the lid, the first sideof the rectangular container and the second side of the rectangularcontainer.